PRIA2 Partnership Grants Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to apply?
Funds are available to States, U.S. territories or possessions, federally recognized Indian tribal governments and Native American Organizations, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, laboratories, other public or private nonprofit institutions, and individuals.

How much funding is awarded to grantees?
Through this program, EPA has awarded nearly $1 million for each of the last two years of this program. The Agency anticipates at least $500,000 in funds will be available for grants over the next three years. The maximum amount of funding an individual can receive is $250,000 per project.

By when must my project be completed?
The project period of performance is limited to two years from the award date.

Are there any stipulations for agriculturally-based grant proposals?
For agricultural projects, proposed projects MUST have the following measures:

Acres impacted by the project under management that include pesticide risk reduction practices. If applicable, include those acres treated with biopesticides or reduced risk pesticides and/or those pest management techniques that do not employ chemical methods.

Percent reduction or pound per acre reduction expected in the use of conventional pesticide active ingredients.

What is the process for submitting my application?
Applicants may choose to submit application packages either hard copy (paper) format or electronically thru Grants.gov. Applications may not be submitted directly to the EPA contact persons via email.

Please use only one method and note that applications received (if made electronically through Grants.gov) or postmarked (if mailed) after the closing date will be returned to the sender without further consideration.

Instructions for Hard Copy Submissions
Applicants submitting hard copy must submit two complete packages including all of the documents listed above, along with a copy as an MSWord, PDF or WordPerfect file on CD to the designated contact on the grant announcement.

Instructions for Electronic Submissions
When submitting via Grants.gov, the proposal narrative described below must be readable in PDF, MS Word or WordPerfect for Windows and consolidated into a single file.

The electronic submission of your proposal package must be made by an official representative of your institution who is registered with Grants.gov and authorized to sign applications for Federal assistance.

For more information, go to Grants.gov and click on “Get Registered” on the left side of the page. Note that the registration process may take a week or longer to complete. If your organization is not currently registered with Grants.gov, please encourage your office to designate an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and ask that individual to begin the registration process as soon as possible.

To begin the application process under this grant announcement, go to Grants.gov and click on the “Apply for Grants” tab on the left side of the page. Then click on “Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package” to download the compatible Adobe viewer and obtain the application package.

To apply through Grants.gov you must use Adobe Reader applications and download the compatible Adobe Reader version (Adobe Reader applications are available to download for free on Grants.gov).

Once you have downloaded the viewer, you may retrieve the application package and instructions by entering the Funding Opportunity Number or the CFDA number in the appropriate field. You may also be able to access the proposal/application package by clicking on the Application button at the top right of the synopsis page for this announcement on Grants.gov (to find the synopsis page, go to Grants.gov and click on the “Find Grant Opportunities” button on the left side of the page and then go to Search Opportunities and use the Browse by Agency feature to find EPA opportunities).

Additional guidance on completing these documents is available through EPA’s Office of Grants and Debarment. All applications must be complete and eligible for award considerations at the time of submission.

How do I prepare my application?
Documents 1 through 6 listed under Application Materials above should appear in the “Mandatory Documents” box on the Grants.gov Grant Application Package page.

For documents 1 through 6, click on the appropriate form and then click “Open Form” below the box. The fields that must be completed will be highlighted in yellow. Optional fields and completed fields will be displayed in white. If you enter an invalid response or incomplete information in a field, you will receive an error message. When you have finished filling out each form, click “Save.” When you return to the electronic Grant Application Package page, click on the form you just completed, and then click on the box that says, “Move Form to Submission List.” This action will move the document over to the box that says, “Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.”

For documents 7 and 8, you will need to attach electronic files. Prepare your proposal as described above and save the document to your computer as an MS Word or WordPerfect file. (EPA prefers to receive documents in MS Word, but documents prepared in WordPerfect will also be accepted.) When you are ready to attach your proposal to the application package, click on “Project Narrative Attachment Form,” and open the form. Click “Add Mandatory Project Narrative File,” and then attach your proposal (previously saved to your computer) using the browse window that appears. You may then click “View Mandatory Project Narrative File” to view it. Enter a brief descriptive title of your project in the space beside “Mandatory Project Narrative File Filename;” the filename should be no more than 40 characters long. If there other attachments that you would like to submit to accompany your proposal, you may click “Add Optional Project Narrative File” and proceed as before. When you have finished attaching the necessary documents, click “Close Form.” When you return to the “Grant Application Package” page, select the “Project Narrative Attachment Form” and click “Move Form to Submission List.” The form should now appear in the box that says, “Mandatory Completed Documents for Submission.” Follow the same general procedures for attaching document 8 – the Detailed Itemized Budget – using the “Budget Narrative Attachment Form.”

Documents 9 through 11 are listed in the “Optional Documents” box, but please note that these optional documents must also be submitted as part of the application package, if applicable to your organization. You are only required to submit document 9– SFLLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities – if your organization is involved in lobbying activities. You are required to submit document 10 – Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement – if you have included any indirect costs in your proposed budget. You must submit document 11 – Biographical Sketches for Project Manager(s). To attach document 10 and document 11, use the “Other Attachments Form” in the “Optional Documents” box. After attaching the documents, please remember to highlight the “Other Attachments Form” and click “Move Form to Submission List” in order to move the documents to the box that says, “Optional Completed Documents for Submission.”

How are applications evaluated?
All proposals received by EPA or submitted electronically through Grants.gov by the submission deadline will first be screened by the Agency Contact. Proposals that do not pass the threshold review will not be evaluated further or considered for funding.

A panel of EPA staff will review eligible proposals based on the selection criteria listed below and assign scores to each proposal. Based on the review of proposals against the criteria below, the panel will develop a list of the most highly scored proposals to submit to the Selection Official. Final funding decisions will then be made by the Selection Official based on the evaluation conducted by the review panel. The highest ranked proposals will be selected for award.

Special emphasis issue

Target audience

Methodology

Strength of partnerships

Clearly stated and measurable objectives

Environmental measurement/ outputs and outcomes

Programmatic Capability and Environmental Results Past Performance

Project Performance Measurement/Outcomes

Each of these criteria is worth 10-15 points, adding up to a 100-point scale.